“Synonymous with the best in aquatics”

“This is the place you would not wish not to be at!” These were the uplifting words from a major US exhibitor at Aquarama 2009, a sentiment echoed by numerous other exhibitors and visitors to the four-day event. According to the organiser, UBM Asia Trade Fairs Pte Ltd, Aquarama has become synonymous with all that’s best in ornamental aquatics. No fewer than 22 countries were represented on the exhibiting side at the last staging, accounting for 66 per cent of all the show’s exhibitors. The countries of origin of the trade visitors (who accounted for around 62% of the total) were even more wide-ranging, with 80 countries being represented. According to the organiser, Aquarama 2009’s success in the face of economic adversity was characterised by both the quantity and quality of its visitors, as well as the all-encompassing range of ornamental aquatic livestock, products and services on show – all conveniently available under one roof. Aquarama well on track Encouragingly for the organiser, Aquarama 2011 is well on the way to repeating the success of its predecessor, or even surpassing it. Booth reservations, for instance, already top 60 per cent. Still, bookings and visitors’ enquires are continuing to flood in on a non-stop basis. It’s obvious that, irrespective of whether there’s a crisis or not, the industry cannot afford not to be present at this spectacular shop window of fish, invertebrates, aquatic plants and dry goods of every conceivable description. This same healthy trend is being witnessed with regard to the ever-popular pavilions, for example, exhibitor assemblages from individual countries, or – in the case of the Ornamental Fish International Pavilion – from a range of the 40 countries represented by the organisation’s membership. For example, Korea, which took up a pavilion for the first time in 2009, found the experience so positive that it is repeating it in 2011. Taiwan, for its part, is going even further and tripling the size of its pavilion. All the established Aquarama favourites will also be present in 2011, including the much-visited New Products Showcase, the high-demand farm visits, the unmissable free trade and public seminars (dealing with the hottest and latest topics in the trade and hobby) and, of course, the incomparable competitions. This time around, these will include some exciting innovations such as a freshwater nano tank competition, reflecting the worldwide surge in interest in these revolutionary systems. As Wein Ng…